Up and Coming: Lesley Sanders-Woods

Meet Lesley Sanders-Wood, 41, of Hattiesburg, business manager for the Southern Miss Student Media Center in the School of Mass Communication and Journalism.

In her position with Southern Miss, she works with six student-led organizations in the areas of sales, marketing, public relations, event planning and fundraising. Those organizations include the Student Printz, WUSM, The Agency, The Crew, Golden Eagle Sound & Production and South City Records.

A native of Laurel, she has a bachelor's degree in public relations from the University of Southern Mississippi and 18 years of professional experience in mass communication. She is also the owner of Woodmark Travel where she works as a travel agent.

Sanders-Wood currently serves as chairwoman of professional development for the Sales and Marketing Professionals of the Pine Belt, an organization for which she served as president from 2014-15. Additionally, she served as an Area Development Partnership ambassador from 2011 to 2015 and co-chaired the committee from 2013-15. Sanders-Wood also serves as public relations chairwoman for the Hattiesburg Junior Auxiliary.

She attends Venture Church in Hattiesburg with her husband, Eric, and two children, Wyatt and Campbell. She is also the mother of a spirited shih tzu, Bandit.

What advice would you give people who want to get into the same line of work as you? Be prepared to live the job. My job has never been a 9-5 job I leave behind when I go home. But with every sacrifice comes reward, and I have never been sorry I chose this path.

Why did you choose to live and work in Hattiesburg area? When I moved to Hattiesburg to attend USM, I didn’t know where my path would take me, but Hattiesburg is the kind of place that chooses you. It always felt like the perfect fit. Plus it is close enough to Laurel that I can see my family whenever I want!

What do you do in your free time? There never seems to be enough free time, but as a travel agent, I still love to travel and see places I have never seen before, especially when we are able to travel as a family. There is just something so special about experiencing the world through the eyes of your children.

If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why? This list for me is actually a long one, but I am a person who believes in starting at the beginning, so because I was named after Lesley Gore and still love her music to this day, I would have to choose her.

If you could go back 10 years and give a younger you tips or advice on life, work or anything in general, what would it be? Honestly, for this one, I really wish I could go back 25 years because I would tell myself what I try to teach my children daily. Love yourself. No matter what people say, or what ideal standard is set by society, treasure your uniqueness. There’s no one like you.